Second of all, the show is good -- but it isn't great.  In fact, almost everything Vera lists as an asset is something I've taken issue with re: the show, to the point where I had to read the entry twice to make sure Vera wasn't taking the piss: "It doesn't make sense to me that people aren't tuning in each week to see how time-traveling reporter Dan Vassar is going to deal with his long-suffering wife (Gretchen Egolf), his job (which always seems to be on the line), his son (who likes his 'magic trick'), his ex-fiancée (who we recently found out is also a decade-jumper and really lives/d in 1948), his prying brother (who's a cop), and what happens when you pull things back with you from the past (like money, wine, and guns). ... What about the fact that the soundtrack adheres perfectly (and beautifully) to the years Dan 'visits'? And that the show is absolutely nothing like Quantum Leap?!"

Taken in order:

1. The long-suffering wife.  The character is going in circles, I feel, at this point.  Either get right with the fact that Dan time-travels, or take the kid and leave.  Yes, it's frequently inconvenient, but the show itself plays these frequently-ill-timed disappearances for laughs often enough that it's probably time for Katie to make her peace with things.  Egolf's doing her best with repetitive material, but she's not the only long-suffering one.

2. Constantly almost missing deadlines at work.  See above.  Either get Dan in serious dutch with his editor, or assume it's not going to become a problem, and stop teasing it as such.  It's like yanking Syd out of grad school on Alias; it wasn't the most graceful way to get out of a scripting dead end, but it needed doing, and the show was better for it.

3. His son/his ex is from the past.  No real complaints there, actually; the son witnessing a time jump was handled really well, and Livia's role in/knowledge of the "rules" could stand to move faster, but I'm liking the character more as time goes on.

4. His prying brother.  Also needs to move along faster, although that subplot took a nifty couple of turns last night that saved it from really pissing me off; I was so glad Jack was finally on the bus, and then when he lost all memory of it at the end of last week's ep, I wanted to scream.

5. The soundtrack.  It's not as egregious as Cold Case, but just give us a title card; we get it.  On-the-nose music choices bug.

I can't speak to the Quantum Leap thing because I never watched that show, but this show is quite good.  McKidd is a favorite actor of mine, and he's great here, even when he's saddled with overly obvious exposition or overwrought staring.  Plus, he's cute, although as I've said before, he needs to ease up on the product.  Paul "Father Intintoola" Schulze is always a reliable evil-bureaucrat type.  And the recurring physicist character and his whole story is mysterious and creepy in just the right balance.  Occasionally I get a little hairs-standing-up chill watching the show; it's almost there.

But it's not quite there.  I suspect the ratings look a lot better if you count people who watch it on the DVR, but I seldom watch it the night it airs, because I'm not impatient for it.  Certain season plots look set to kick into a higher gear, and stay there, but that should have happened a month ago, and didn't -- and it's why many people stopped watching, or never started, or don't make it appointment TV.

Journeyman should take a lesson from its lead-in, Heroes, and get on with things.  The people who would give this show a chance don't need everything repeated for them 87 times.  Plot.  Let's go.